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Scott deserves greater tribute

Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007

OK, NASCAR, it's your turn: When's Wendell Scott day?

And if your first thought here is 'Wendell who?', that's a pretty good indication that the racing community needs to do a better job recognizing the pioneering efforts of the first - and only - black man to win a race in NASCAR's top series.

Sunday, major league baseball honored the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut.

League officials retired Robinson's No. 42 a decade ago, then temporarily unretired it so any player who wanted to honor Robinson could do so.

Now it's time for NASCAR to honor Scott, who faced his own difficult journey in breaking down a racial barrier.

"Time has passed to pay tribute to him," said Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler.

NASCAR has awarded scholarships in Scott's name to minority students with an interest in the racing industry, and Scott's son, Wendell Jr., has served as a mentor to drivers participating in NASCAR's diversity program. Wheeler said some tracks have hosted their own tributes to Scott.

But where's the big-stage tribute to the man who broke racing's racial boundaries? NASCAR isn't ruling it out, but it's not in the works yet.

Scott broke into NASCAR's top series, the Grand National, in 1961.

He started 495 career races and finishing in the top 10 in points three times. His career came to an end after a crash at Talladega Superspeedway in 1973.

Given America's fixation on round-number anniversaries, NASCAR already has missed out on the chance to make a bigger deal out of the 40th anniversary of Scott's victory.

That means NASCAR could wait to throw a heck of a party in 2013 for the 50th anniversary of his victory.